My dad was in the Indian Army. He died in a terrorist attack in Kashmir in 1994. After that, my mum and I settled in Noida. I went to Delhi Public School in Noida and then to Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi University. It was in college that I realised I wanted to be on the stage and in front of the camera.
An army environment is very protected, a walled city kind of environment, where everybody has the same income, you have the same birthday parties, you are given return gifts - everything is the same. Everybody is moving up at the same pace.
I love cooking, and I can make real good rajma chawal. It is a time consuming process and only for the consumption of a select few very special people. Also, I can make delicious mutton biryani, but I must confess I have stolen the recipe from my mother.
I like to be prepared enough to be completely unprepared. I don't know if I make sense, but I have a fantasy of living someone else's life. And to do that perfectly, I need to prepare myself just as properly.
As an actor, there are many confusing factors that can make you take or not take a decision. It becomes difficult. Your first and last checkpoint should be the story. I always read a script as an audience.
I like the idea of not having a definition of love and romance. The greatest love stories have been about people who haven't come together. More stories like that need to be explored.
Performing arts was something I was always part of. That was may be the only common thread that ran throughout my education, throughout my schooling years. But apart from that, there were no friends or no long term associations. That was the only thing I knew was with me wherever I went.
Once while vacationing at my grandparent's house in Rajasthan, we were sleeping on the roof and I spotted an object hovering around in the sky - kind of a UFO. It totally spooked me out. I couldn't sleep for days after that.
Nothing in my background has anything to do with films. In that sense, I am a complete outsider.
I have no plan. I will leave it to the good things and good times to find me.
Someone very important once told me, 'You can make almost everything look great.' That's the best compliment I have received till date.
I opt for clothes that complement my body type. I am not someone who will go for something just because it is trendy and not look good on me. I would choose clothes which are comfortable and accentuate my body type.
I am a pretty emotional person. Any act of kindness or unkindness moves me. When I see a romantic couple sitting by the beach, it moves me. I don't break down or crack under pressure, but I am just sensitive.
'The Lunchbox' has been a blessing - all gift-wrapped and tied with a bow. Life is a lunchbox of chocolates now!
These are stories you hear... of people sitting in a mall and being spotted, and you think it will happen to you. And when you're fresh off the boat, and new in Bombay, you want those kind of things! They are magical fables. You want to, somewhere, be a part of it, something people will read about. But reality is different.
Things culminate when they have to. Work comes to you when you deserve to do it.
I love to sing. I never had any formal training. My mother is a singer, and I picked up listening to her.
I don't go out with random people.
Films are a whole new world that I'm excited to explore. But being on stage is very close to my heart; it has given me a sense of belonging. I will always try to find a way to balance both.
It is fashionable to be a college dropout, no? Like Steve Jobs.
